Under Acamapichtli the Aztec's consolidated there position and began to expand.
Dominated allies during the reign of Montezuma (1440-1468)
Before first election, pipiltin (the people in power at the time) held most of the power receiving most of the land and tribute from conquered areas. They also controlled the government, military and religious positions.
Religion
Aztec Templo Mayor at Tenochtitlán (Mexico City)
Religious schools for the training of priests and government administrators were open to children of nobles, craftsmen, the pochteca, and in some cases, even to commoners.
An Aztec Birth called for days of celebration, religious rituals, visits from relatives and several speeches.
Working hard was part of everyones religious and political duty.
Ritual Calendar included religious rituals and many forms of entertainment.
Economy
Page from Aztec Codex Mendoza
Aztec towns annually paid 2,800 mantles and tunics, a live eagle, two war costumes and shields to the emperor Montezuma II.
Farming was a large part of the economy. Peasants or slaves normally worked as farmers.
People would commonly trade at markets during the day.
Arts/Architecture
Aztec sculpture
Aztecs created skull racks made of stucco that symbolized their decapitated prisoners.
Many religious sculptures were made in the time of the Aztec Empire.
Made calender stones with twenty symbols on the outer edge. Each symbol represented a day in the month.
Technology
Aztec Calendar Stone
The calendar stone depicts the Aztec's cosmological beliefs
They called this a calendar because there are 20 symbols on its outer edge which represent the number of days the their month.
This corresponds to a series of rituals in the Aztec culture.
Society
Zapotec ball court
Upper Class:
Top of Social Hierarchy: King
King was assisted by a great staff of professional administrators and advisers, all of noble birth, who formed the highest class.
The kings staff lived in government housing and paid no taxes
Middle Class
Hereditary nobles owned land that was worked by commoners
Nobles could be officers in the military, priests, diplomats, tax collectors, or hold other government positions
Following Nobles: 2 other classes
1st Class: master craftsmen as goldsmiths, sculptors, and lapidaries, who were highly respected though not especially rich
2nd Class: the pochteca, or long-distance merchants, who conducted lengthy trading missions and supplied the empire with luxuries, becoming extremely rich as a result
Lower Class
The largest population was the commoners who worked on the land belonging to their kinship groups
They paid taxes, traded in the markets, owned homes, and were citizens.
They worked as farmers, household servants, and soldiers.
Slaves were not considered citizens to the people, but technically were.
Slaves were used as human sacrifices and indentured servants.
Summary
The Aztecs were a very complex empire. They were a war loving people who put an importance on religion. They had a very commonly used social class system with an upper, middle and lower class. They also had very interesting artistic styles with their religious sculptures. Finally they had a strict government in which there were many cases of capital punishment, most mainly decapitation, for crimes.
THE AZTEC EMPIRE!
Government
First King / Tlatoani: Acamapichtli
Under Acamapichtli the Aztec's consolidated there position and began to expand.
Dominated allies during the reign of Montezuma (1440-1468)
Before first election, pipiltin (the people in power at the time) held most of the power receiving most of the land and tribute from conquered areas. They also controlled the government, military and religious positions.
Religion
Religious schools for the training of priests and government administrators were open to children of nobles, craftsmen, the pochteca, and in some cases, even to commoners.
An Aztec Birth called for days of celebration, religious rituals, visits from relatives and several speeches.
Working hard was part of everyones religious and political duty.
Ritual Calendar included religious rituals and many forms of entertainment.
Economy
Aztec towns annually paid 2,800 mantles and tunics, a live eagle, two war costumes and shields to the emperor Montezuma II.
Farming was a large part of the economy. Peasants or slaves normally worked as farmers.
People would commonly trade at markets during the day.
Arts/Architecture
Aztecs created skull racks made of stucco that symbolized their decapitated prisoners.
Many religious sculptures were made in the time of the Aztec Empire.
Made calender stones with twenty symbols on the outer edge. Each symbol represented a day in the month.
Technology
Society
Upper Class:
Middle Class
Lower Class
Summary
The Aztecs were a very complex empire. They were a war loving people who put an importance on religion. They had a very commonly used social class system with an upper, middle and lower class. They also had very interesting artistic styles with their religious sculptures. Finally they had a strict government in which there were many cases of capital punishment, most mainly decapitation, for crimes.